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Firewall!

M

mpt-matthew

macrumors regular
Original poster
Aug 11, 2010
179
7
Right, lets talk about my OSX firewall.

I think I need a firewall, please advise:
My internet connection in my university room comes through an CAT cable, into my time capsule, then distributed to me on a secure wifi network.
I think I should have a firewall for that, as its not my "own" internet connection if that makes sense.
Also at the university itself i use their wifi network, again i am sure a firewall is appropriate here to prevent someone trying to hack my computer on the same network. Is this correct.

Anyway, i enabled my firewall BUT even though lots of programes are on the trusted list, it still asks me to allow them internet connection before they run. Is there any way to allow (say iTunes) so it will always accept it.
Its on the trusted list in the firewall preferences.

Any other security tips for unsecured networks :)

Thanks
 
Depends on your university's wireless policies. Do they have a web site talking about this? My employer and alma mater have the wireless running on a DMZ. That being said, you are taking your university's wired connection and running it through your own wireless router. Wired connections are almost certainly firewalled.

To be honest, I don't think anyone is going to want to hack your computer. Connecting to an OS X machine over a network requires a password, almost always. If you have a strong password and have file sharing disabled, you should be fine.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
First off, your Time Capsule is a firewall, just like the AEBS and any other router out there.

Security
Wi-Fi Protected Access™ (WPA/WPA2)2
Wireless security (WEP) configurable for 40-bit and 128-bit encryption
MAC address filtering
NAT firewall
Support for RADIUS authentication
802.1X, PEAP, LEAP, TTLS, TLS, FAST
Time-based access control
Click to expand...

It is a hardware firewall which are the most secure and hard to beat firewalls, as compared to a software firewall. It's still a good idea to enable the OS/X firewall too, especially if you're mobile and not using your own router (Time Capsule).

When you set up your Time Capsule, ensure that you are using the encryption standard WPA or WPA2 and never WEP and never leave it unsecured. I also suggest using a 63 character psuedo random password with maximum entropy. This will guarantee that no one will ever hack into your wireless network.

WEP security can be hacked in as little as 10-15 seconds. The protocol was flawed from its inception and should never be used. For the life of me, I don't know why manufacturers still include this protocol in their devices.

EDIT: You should also make sure you have downloaded the latest firmware updates for the Time Capsule and software update for the Airport Utility. There were several bug fixes and security fixes.

AirPort Base Station and Time Capsule Firmware Update 7.5.2 Information
AirPort Utility 5.5.2 for Mac
 
Last edited:
SandboxGeneral said:
First off, your Time Capsule is a firewall, just like the AEBS and any other router out there.



It is a hardware firewall which are the most secure and hard to beat firewalls, as compared to a software firewall. It's still a good idea to enable the OS/X firewall too, especially if you're mobile and not using your own router (Time Capsule).

When you set up your Time Capsule, ensure that you are using the encryption standard WPA or WPA2 and never WEP and never leave it unsecured. I also suggest using a 63 character psuedo random password with maximum entropy. This will guarantee that no one will ever hack into your wireless network.

WEP security can be hacked in as little as 10-15 seconds. The protocol was flawed from its inception and should never be used. For the life of me, I don't know why manufacturers still include this protocol in their devices.
Click to expand...

Ok, thanks.
My main issue wasn't particularly the time capsule, i dont think that anyone would want to hack it- and i am using WPA.

The main issue was the wireless network at the university itself (not my room). And protecting my mac against an attack from someone inside the university.
 
mpt-matthew said:
Ok, thanks.
My main issue wasn't particularly the time capsule, i dont think that anyone would want to hack it- and i am using WPA.

The main issue was the wireless network at the university itself (not my room). And protecting my mac against an attack from someone inside the university.
Click to expand...

In that case, make sure you have your OS/X firewall turned on and under the advanced settings, you should enable stealth mode to protect against packet sniffers and such. You should probably also check Block all incoming connections for the time you're on the public WiFi and then turn it back off when you're back on your own network.

I always have my OS/X firewall on even though I am behind my Airport Extreme Base Station and I always leave stealth mode enabled.

If you're truly paranoid about security (and there's nothing wrong with that) there are a few more ways to secure your public Internet experience that are a bit more involved.
 
Last edited:
SandboxGeneral said:
In that case, make sure you have your OS/X firewall turned on and under the advanced settings, you should enable stealth mode to protect against packet sniffers and such. You should probably also check Block all incoming connections for the time you're on the public WiFi and then turn it back off when you're back on your own network.

I always have my OS/X firewall on even though I am behind my Airport Extreme Base Station and I always leave stealth mode enabled.
Click to expand...

So basically enable stealth mode when at uni.

Do you know how i can stop the messages asking me to allow connections from applications. As i say above, even when an application is on the list it still asks me to allow.
 
mpt-matthew said:
So basically enable stealth mode when at uni.

Do you know how i can stop the messages asking me to allow connections from applications. As i say above, even when an application is on the list it still asks me to allow.
Click to expand...

Hmmm... as far as it always asking, I've had that happen a few times with iTunes before. I think a restart took care of it as it shouldn't be doing that when it's in the list.

I would leave stealth mode on all the time.
 
SandboxGeneral said:
Hmmm... as far as it always asking, I've had that happen a few times with iTunes before. I think a restart took care of it as it shouldn't be doing that when it's in the list.

I would leave stealth mode on all the time.
Click to expand...

I have had it turned on for a few weeks now. iTunes, entourage etc have been on the list but it still asks me.
I have it ticked to allow signed software incoming connections.
 
SandboxGeneral said:
I have that ticked as well. Are all your Software Updates, up to date from :apple:?
Click to expand...

Yepp, everything is up to date. it says do you want to allow it to ma incoming connections.

The help message says:

If your application is accessible to other systems
When an application opens itself to connections over the network or Internet, Mac OS X displays an alert message. The application may be trying to allow other computers to connect with your system, or it may be sharing information with other systems.
If this type of behavior is expected from the application and you see no undue risk, click Allow.
If you don’t want the application to connect across the network, or if you don’t want it to share information, click Deny. This will block attempts by other systems to connect to the application.


I tried removing it then re-adding it to the list and it still asks me.
 
I'm really not sure about that one, I think it's a glitch or something. Try closing all open applications and run the repair permissions command and see if that helps.
 
Have you changed the icons for the apps giving you the firewall prompt? If so that 'breaks' the software signature, forcing the prompt each time.
 
Try the following to see if it helps:

1) Delete all the items in the firewall list in the Security pane in System Preferences.

2) Turn off the firewall.

3) Delete the Application Firewall Preferences (located in Library/Preferences/com.apple.alf.plist).

4) Restart the computer, turn on the firewall, and reconfigure the settings.

FYI, more about Mac OS X firewalling -> 1 & 2
 
Stealth mode settings for the firewall do not prevent detection by ARP utilities and tools used for ARP poisoning attacks. Make sure to use SSL encryption as much as possible and check the digital certificate of security sensitive websites (ie with logins you don't want hacked).

Use a utility, such as Mocha, to detect ARP poisoning.
 
munkery said:
Stealth mode settings for the firewall do not prevent detection by ARP utilities and tools used for ARP poisoning attacks. Make sure to use SSL encryption as much as possible and check the digital certificate of security sensitive websites (ie with logins you don't want hacked).

Use a utility, such as Mocha, to detect ARP poisoning.
Click to expand...

That's exactly right. Good advice. :)
 
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